The invention concerns a method for operating a strip casting machine for producing a metal strip, and a device for carrying out the method.
During casting between two casting rolls forming a casting gap, sealing plates are held against the facing surfaces of the casting rolls to contain and hold the molten metal between the rolls. The fire-proof sealing plates are mainly pressed against the rotating casting rolls. During this, the sealing surfaces are subjected to substantial wear. In the area of the sealing edges, an undesired partial solidification can occur, which in turn may result in damage to the sealing plates along the roll edges. The wash-out, i.e. the wear from the sealing plates within the edge area of the casting rolls will result in poorly cast edges in the metal strip and in the formation of fins in this area. The metal strip with possible fins produced in this way can cause further wear on the sealing plates on the one hand, and can give rise to edge cracks in the metal strip on the other. These defects will necessitate substantial edge trimming and therefore reject losses, which will have a negative effect on the efficiency of the method.
Strip casting machines are known where the side seals can be moved or rotated in an oscillating manner in a horizontal or vertical direction in order to avoid uneven wear of the sealing plates, and also to prevent an adhering of the metal strip produced. However, even with these solutions, the risk of a possible partial solidification occurring in the area of the roll edges between the sealing plate and the facing side of the rolls still exists, and partial wear on the one hand as well as strip edge faults on the other may result.